It’s been a long time since Doug Martin has been on the field, but he’s optimistic he’s going to be ready to go this week.
Martin has been out with a hamstring strain since Week Two, but said after getting through a day of light agility work and a limited workload yesterday that he can play against the Bears Sunday.
“It felt real good,” Martin said, via Jenna Laine of ESPN.com. “It felt real good. I did some individual work. My legs were pretty good. My hamstrings were pretty good. I didn’t really feel anything. I’m pretty optimistic for this coming game. Hopefully I can get in, but it’s up to the medical doctors.”
Of course, after such a long layoff, it’s no sure thing that he’s going to be ready to jump right back into things, but he said he’s tried to keep himself ready.
“Shape-wise, I’ve been running with the trainers here on my own time so I think I’m in pretty good shape,” he said. “I’m getting there. I’m getting to that point. It’s been kind of frustrating but I’m just going to take all the proper steps to get back on the field.
“I do feel good. I feel really good.”
The Bucs could obviously use him, for a lot of reasons. Beyond the 1,402 yards he rushed for last year, he also provided a safety net for then-rookie quarterback Jamies Winston. Without him, there’s a lot more pressure on Winston to make plays, which has been tougher with a revolving cast behind him.
Martin’s one of four Bucs running backs to miss time with injury this year, and after he aggravated the injury trying to come back in Week Five, it makes sense that they’d lean toward the conservative side.